18 December 2014 – Dallas, London, Sydney – PM World is inviting authors around the world to submit new works for publication in the PM World Journal on the general question of “how do projects begin?” Articles and papers related to any aspect of project startup are sought for the first few journal editions of 2015. Some potential contributions might include:

Featured Papers – new knowledge or research related to project feasibility analysis, selection, planning, launch or other similar topics

According to Managing Editor David Pells, “It is becoming more evident that many projects fail due to lack of proper feasibility assessment or business case, poor planning, weak risk analysis, wrong resources involved, inadequate discipline and other factors at the very front end. What new knowledge can we document to help more projects and project managers succeed?”

“Russ Archibald has advocated for a new project lifecycle model that adds emphasis on the project startup phase,” Pells adds. “Andy Cuthbert at Halliburton and many others have advocated for more project manager involvement during early project feasibility and selection stages. And now Alan Stretton in his new journal series is showing that many projects fail due to front end problems. We would welcome more articles on these and other aspects of the topic.”

Researchers, practitioners and experts are invited to submit an original article or paper for publication in the PM World Journal. Industry executives and managers are invited to share their knowledge and experience. For author guidelines, visit https://pmworldjournal.net/authors/author-guidelines/.

PM World Journal (PMWJ) is a web-based monthly publication featuring dozens of articles, papers and stories about projects and project management around the world. The PMWJ is produced by PM World, which also operates the PM World Library (PMWL), a global resource for continuous learning in portfolio, program and project management (P/PM). To read the latest PMWJ, go to https://www.pmworldjournal.net/; to learn more, visit http://www.pmworldlibrary.net/.

Editor’s note: We do not publish topic-specific issues of the PM World Journal. Works submitted in response to this call for papers can be published at any time in the future, so please consider sending an original article now or in the future – to [email protected].

Alan Stretton addresses this crucial topic in new series of articles in the PM World Journal, offers powerful new model for future research

15 December 2014 – Dallas, London, Sydney – PM World has announced the publication of a ground breaking new series of articles in the monthly PM World Journal (PMWJ) on the topic of “project successes and failures” by project management pioneer Alan Stretton. To read this first article, click here.

With so many project management professional organizations, standards, books, courses and other resources, it seems shocking that projects continue to fail at such a high rate. In a ground breaking new series of articles launched in the December PMWJ and continuing over the next five months, Alan Stretton, PhD (hon), Fellow AIPM, (pictured) will clarify important issues, establish a framework for understanding the current situation and addressing shortfalls, and provide a model for helping improve overall performance.

From the introduction to the first article by Dr. Stretton: “Many people in the project management community are concerned about what has been happening in practice with project performance – e.g. about the current position with project successes and failures; whether project performance has actually been improving; and the extent to which our efforts over many decades have helped, or failed to, improve such performance. This is the first article of a series, which is initially concerned with the current position with project successes and failures, and later with approaches to increasing project success levels.”

In the article, Alan discusses previous surveys by The Standish Group (software projects) and IPA (major projects), project success criteria (and lack thereof), and lack of research data on project success and failure. He raises some key questions such as “success for whom?” and “at what level?” The first article takes a close look at the availability of data on project successes and failures, setting the stage for identifying and assessing some important issues.

According to David Pells, PMWJ Management Editor, “Alan is addressing such an important topic in his new series, in terms of both clarifying the issues and outlining some potential solutions. Clearly there is a need for more research and more data on project success and failure. This series however moves the ball forward, provides a solid basis for that future research as well as real progress in solving this global dilemma. We are very happy to publish his ground breaking series in the journal.”

The PM World Journal (PMWJ) is a global resource for sharing knowledge related to portfolio, program and project management (P/PM). The PMWJ is produced and maintained by PM World which also maintains the PM World Library (PMWL), a global resource for continuous learning in programme and project management. To see the latest edition of the PMWJ, go to www.pmworldjournal.net. To learn more, visit http://www.pmworldlibrary.net/.

PM World Collection grows to 1042 project management articles, papers & other works by 546 different authors in more than 50 countries

10 December 2014 – Dallas, London, Sydney – PM World has announced that 39 new articles, papers and other original works about program and project management (P/PM) were added to the PM World Library (PMWL) this week. These contributions by 51 different authors in 20 countries were published in the December 2014 edition of the PM World Journal (PMWJ). They can now be found among the most recent papers, articles and book reviews on the PMWL home page at http://www.pmworldlibrary.net/.

The new additions bring the total in the PM World Collection to 1042 original works by 546 different authors from 60+ countries. The collection is growing each month by more than 30 new works by many different authors; of the 51 authors in December, 19 were new to the journal and library. All works in the PMWL can be accessed at http://pmworldlibrary.net/pm-world-collection/. Profiles of all authors in the library, along with access to their works, can be found at http://pmworldlibrary.net/author-showcase/.

According to PMWL Director David Pells, “This month saw tremendous additions to the PM World Library, nearly 40 different works by more than 50 different authors. Some of the works are significant, for example the new article and series by Alan Stretton on project success and failure.”

“I was especially pleased to publish two personal stories this month,” Pells adds. “We would really like to see more personal project management stories, to personalize the practice of project management. If you have some personal lessons learned, some project management experience to relate or just a project to describe, write it up and email it to me.”

The PM World Library (PMWL) is a global resource for continuous learning in portfolio, program and project management (P/PM). The PMWL is produced and maintained by PM World that also publishes the monthly PM World Journal (PMWJ), a web-based monthly publication featuring dozens of articles, papers and news stories about projects and project management around the world. To see the latest edition of the PMWJ, visit https://www.pmworldjournal.net/; to learn more, visit http://www.pmworldlibrary.net/. Follow on Facebook, LinkedIn or @pmworldlibrary.

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4th International Scientific Conference on Project Management in the Baltic States to be held 16-17 April 2015 at University of Latvia in Riga

30 December 2014 – Riga, Latvia – The 4th International Scientific Conference on Project Management in the Baltic States will be held in Riga, Latvia during 16-17 April 2014. Under the theme “Project Management Development – Practice and Perspectives”, the conference will be held at the University of Latvia. The Call for Papers has now closed, and the preliminary program will be announced soon. More information can be found at http://www.balticpmconference.eu/.

The aim of the conference is to discuss results of scientific research in project management issues, to establish new contacts and networking between professionals involved in project management as well as enhance the capacity of project managers. Official conference language is English.

The conference programme will include opening plenary session, parallel sessions and concluding plenary session. Scientific papers presented at the conference will be published in the conference proceedings and on the conference website. All abstracts before the conference will be double blind reviewed and materials included in the conference proceedings are double blind reviewed. If you live in Europe and have an interest in advancing professional project management or learning about the latest in project management applications and ideas, don’t miss this major regional conference.

This conference is organized by the Faculty of Economics and Management, University of Latvia, in cooperation with the Professional Association of Project Managers and the Baltic Controlling Institute. The conference website is http://www.balticpmconference.eu/

Readers in more than 200 countries have experienced the global diversity of PMWJ authors and contents

7 December 2014 – Dallas, London, Sydney – The December edition of the PM World Journal has been published online with 40 original works by 52 different authors from around the world. Readers from more than 200 countries have now visited the PMWJ website, experiencing the wide range of articles, papers and other contents created by authors from many different places and organizations.

The PMWJ now represents one of the most international online publications serving the project management professional community, with more than 20 countries often represented by authors or subjects each month. The December edition now available at https://www.pmworldjournal.net/ contains original works by authors in 17 different countries, with another six featured in project management related news articles.

The December PMWJ was also diverse in its range of contents, with original works this month in the following categories: featured interview, featured papers (5), series articles (6), advisory articles (3), commentary articles (3), case study, second editions (4), reports (7), personal stories (2) and book reviews (7). One welcome article and one letter to the editor were also included.

According to David Pells, PMWJ Management Editor, “This month’s edition contains some important contributions. The five featured papers, four second editions and case study are all serious professional papers. The series articles are also important, but especially Alan Stretton’s first article in his new series on project success and failure, a very important topic now. The second edition paper by Russ Archibald and his co-authors is also important and worth reading.”

“This month’s edition also contains some very entertaining contents,” Pells adds. “The featured interview with one of Croatia’s most successful entrepreneurs is fascinating and the two personal stories fun to read. The reports are also interesting, describing events and developments in various countries. The advisory and commentary articles are always fun to read, for example this month, Charles Smith’s ‘Performers on the Project Stage’ and ‘Did Oswald Have a Chance to Kill Kennedy?’ by Lev Virine, Michael Trumper and Eugenia Virine in Canada.”

“Finally, there are really two fascinating case studies included this month,” Pells concludes. “The official case study by Loyd and Cooper describes project management improvements over the last few years at TXU Energy in Texas. Of equal note is the series article by Cota and Caracas about project management at the Central Bank of Brazil, which describes their journey to a higher level of maturity.”

The PM World Journal (PMWJ) is a global resource for sharing knowledge related to portfolio, program and project management (P/PM). The PMWJ is produced and maintained by PM World which also maintains the PM World Library (PMWL), a global resource for continuous learning in programme and project management. To see the latest edition of the PMWJ, go to https://www.pmworldjournal.net/. To learn more, visit http://www.pmworldlibrary.net/.

5 December 2014 – Zurich, Switzerland and Tianjin, China – IPMA’s 2014 Research Conference completed earlier this week, in Tianjin, China. Professor Anbang Qi, IPMA Research Chair and the event’s host, said he was very happy that all his IPMA friends and associates, regional speakers from the Asia Pacific Federation of Project Management, and fellow researchers could join him at his school, Nankai University.

The theme of the event was How to make Research Meet the needs of Practice in PM. The sessions delivered on that promise, with a range of Chinese and International speakers presenting on topics that largely focused on the unique characteristics of China’s style, and the needs for research initiatives.

Aptly launched by Professor Anbang Qi, the 2014 IPMA Research Conference began with welcoming comments from the University Dean and Vice President. Then, other representatives, including IPMA and Asia Pacific officers, expressed their welcomes. Next, Dr. Beverly Pasian, who served as a terrific host for the event, introduced the 2014 IPMA Research Award winners (covered more extensively elsewhere), highlighting the following:

In addition to discussion questions after each session, there was an end-of-day World Cafe on the Research Methodology for Project Management.

Added highlights of this event include the exciting 200 KM bus ride to Tianjin for the Sunday’s Congress participants from Beijing; our Sunday night dinner, supported by PMRC leader Bai Sijun, and the Monday night dinner, supported by Nankai University Dean Yuli Zhang. Thank you! A book will be published with the papers from the event, and the presentations will be made available by the IPMA Research Board.

Founded in 1965 and registered in Switzerland, the International Project Management Association (IPMA) is the world’s first global project management professional organization. IPMA is an international federation of more than 55 national project management societies in Africa, Asia, Europe and the Americas. IPMA sponsors research, standards, awards, seminars, advanced certifications, an annual world congress and the IPMA Young Crew, all related to professional project, programme and portfolio management. For more information about IPMA, visit http://www.ipma.ch/.

5 December 2014 – Krakow, Poland and Tianjin, China – The International Project Management Association (IPMA) has announced the winners of their 2014 Research Awards at the 2nd IPMA Research Conference held in Tianjin, China. The IPMA Research Conference was held at the Business School of Nankai University in Tianjin during 1-2 December 2014.

The IPMA Research Awards were presented in 3 categories:

The IPMA Young Researcher Award which honors young researchers, for research which led to a PhD or early career research projects. The candidates to this award are below age 35 or they can prove that they are less than 10 years involved in research.

The IPMA Research Award honors established project management researchers for a particular research project accomplished. The application of interdisciplinary projects is encouraged.

A special IPMA Research Achievement Award that honors an exceptional project management researcher for his or her career achievements in research and contributions to project management practice. This award is per nomination only and decided by the IPMA Research Management Board based on the achievements of selected candidates over many years.

The IPMA Research Award 2014 went to the research team: Dr. Janice Thomas, Dr. Stella George and Dr. Svetlana Cicmil, for their research project: Studying project management implementation as management innovation

Photo at right: Dr. Janice Thomas on left, Dr. Beverly Pasian

Jury of the IPMA Research Award 2014 also honored Univ. Prof. Dr. Roland Gareis with the IPMA Research Achievement Award. Professor Gareis could not attend the Research Conference but sent a video message to the participants. (See PMWJ article about Dr. Gareis’ award here.)

Congratulations to all Winners for their great research work, which contributes to the scholarship of project management and furthers its practice!

Founded in 1965 and registered in Switzerland, the International Project Management Association (IPMA) is the world’s oldest global project management professional organization. IPMA is an international federation of more than 50 national project management societies in Africa, Asia, Europe and the Americas. IPMA sponsors research, standards, awards, seminars, an annual world congress and the IPMA Young Crew, all related to professional project, programme and portfolio management. The president of IPMA for 2015-16 is Mr. Reinhard Wagner. For more information about IPMA, visit http://www.ipma.ch/.

4 December 2014 – Zurich, Switzerland and Beijing, China – The Asia Pacific Federation of Project Management (apfpm), Project Management Research Committee (PMRC, IPMA-China), and International Project Management Association (IPMA) joined together in Beijing, China, for a highly successful two-day event. The conference was held during 29-30 November 2014.

With the theme, Driving Business Value Through Delivering Project Success, hosted by PMRC, and organized by PMRC and apfpm, this great event attracted over 400 National, Asia Pacific, and International speakers and participants.

Photo by Les Squires, on the steps of main hall, Beihang University, Beijing. Temperature was -10Cº

Magnificently organized by PMRC and their Secretary-general and Vice President Dr. Ou Lixiong (welcoming participants in the photo below), with the assistance of apfpm Chair Dr. Bill Young, the event began with an Opening Ceremony, with speeches by a wide variety of organizing sponsors and dignitaries, from Beihang University, and from China, Asia Pacific, and International associations.

After the traditional photo-session break, keynotes included a unique dual keynote session by IPMA President Mladen Radujkovic and IPMA VP Marketing & Events, Stacy Goff; their topic: When and How Project Managers Add Value and Increase Benefits. Next, Li Jin, of Alibaba, discussed Project Management in the Era of Big Data, and Ms. Tan Mei discussed Lunar Exploration Program Management.

In the afternoon keynotes, Professor Tomas Blomquist travelled from Sweden to present A New Approach of Driving Business by Projects; and Dr. Zhou Guohua treated us to insights into China’s High-speed Rail Development and Project Management.

In closing day 1 keynotes, Matti Ahvenharju, Chairman of the Board of Project Institute Finland, presented Delivering Successful Business through Holistic Development of Enterprise Project Management, and Ding Ronggui, Professor of the School of Management, Shandong University, China, presented Chinese Wisdom in Project Governance.

In keeping with this being the official apfpm Congress, delgates then participated in the formal apfpm Member Association meeting, then interested participants joined for dinner at a local restaurant—into the late hours.

Day Two of the Congress featured breakout sessions that explored a wide range of topics in parallel; many of the sessions were so popular that there was standing-room only for them. Among the topics, each with multiple excellent speakers, were:

Project Financing/PPP and new-type Urbanization

Project Management Practice and Innovation

Project Management Informatization

Chinese Wisdom in Project Management

Power Engineering Project Management

Organizational Project Management Systems and Competence Development

International Projects and Cross Culture

Project Management Automotive R&D and Manufacturing

Young Crew Forum

Great Wall Excursion

For International event participants who arrived early, apfpm Chair Bill Young and his wife Yustina organized a pre-event expedition to China‘s Great Wall.

The combination of history, exercise, fresh air, and dialogue was an excellent kick-off, as participants from over 10 nations got to know each other. All participants expressed deep thanks to Bill and Yustina Young!

About apfpm

apfpm, Asia Pacific Federation of Project Management, is a regional Pacific Rim group of independent national project management associations. Operating through a virtual network of committees, the committees include Governance, Membership, Alliances, Achievement Awards, and Website Development. The apfpm website is the main communications method for the Federation. apfpm and IPMA signed a strategic Memorandum of Understanding in 2014.

About PMRC

PMRC, Project Management Research Committee, IPMA China, is China’s cross-industry national professional project management organization. In addition to their large number of national and international strategic relationships, PMRC offers the IPMA 4 Level Certification System, presents an important range of practitioner and research-oriented events each year, and has promoted the development of professional and international project management for over 23 years.

About IPMA

Founded in 1965 and registered in Switzerland, the International Project Management Association (IPMA) is the world’s first global project management professional organization. IPMA is an international federation of more than 55 national project management societies in Africa, Asia, Europe and the Americas. IPMA sponsors research, standards, awards, seminars, an annual world congress and the IPMA Young Crew, all related to professional project, programme and portfolio management. For more information about IPMA, visit http://www.ipma.ch/.

2014 research award winners announced at IPMA Research Conference in China

3 December 2014 – Zurich, Switzerland and Tianjin, China – The International Project Management Association (IPMA) has announced that Prof Roland Gareis has been awarded the IPMA Research Achievement Award for 2014. The announcement was made on 2 December 2014 during the IPMA Research Conference in Tianjin, China.

According to the IPMA research award criteria: “The Research Achievement Award is presented annually to a researcher who has made a major contribution to the field of project management during his/her professional working life. This award acknowledges the scope, quality and impact of these contributions that have been made over an extended period, and honors an individual’s commitment to excellence.”

On accepting the award, Prof Gareis stated: “As manager, consultant and professor I have the opportunity to observe applied management practices, to identify needs of organizations, to generate research hypotheses, and to develop solutions for business needs. Based on reflections and interpretations of concrete case studies, I communicate research results in publications, events and seminars. The cyclic working approach from practice to research and back to practice allows us to achieve practice-oriented research results.”

Univ. Prof. Dkfm. Dr. Roland Gareis consults for national and international companies on the topics of process, project, and change management as well as business analysis. He has developed the management method “Management by Projects” and is author of different publications, such as the books “Happy Projects!” and “Processes & Projects”.

He was a Visiting Professor at Georgia Tech in Atlanta, at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Zurich, and at the University of Quebec in Montreal. He was the Chairman of the Austrian Project Management Association (pma) and organized the IPMA world congress on „Management by Projects“ in 1990. He is the former research director of the IPMA. Roland Gareis was university Professor and director of the „Professional MBA in Project & Process Management“, and head of the PROJEKTMANAGEMENT GROUP at WU, the University of Economics and Business Administration in Vienna, Austria until 2013.

Founded in 1965 and registered in Switzerland, the International Project Management Association (IPMA) is the world’s oldest global project management professional organization. IPMA is an international federation of more than 50 national project management societies in Africa, Asia, Europe and the Americas. IPMA sponsors research, standards, awards, seminars, an annual world congress and the IPMA Young Crew, all related to professional project, programme and portfolio management. For more information about IPMA, visit http://www.ipma.ch/.

PMI Global Congress EMEA 2015 to be 13-15 May 2015 at the ExCel London Exhibition and Convention Centre

2 December 2014 – London, UK and Philadelphia, USA – The Project Management Institute (PMI®) will hold its 2015 Global Congress EMEA (Europe, Middle East, Africa) at the ExCel London Exhibition and Convention Centre during 13-15 May 2015. Registration for the event is now open at http://registration.experientevent.com/showpmi154/.

The PMI Global Congress EMEA is one of the largest project management conferences in Europe each year, usually drawing a few thousand attendees. The 2015 congress is expected to continue that trend, offering participants opportunities for learning, networking and business development. An exhibition will accompany the congress, along with a full set of SeminarsWorld workshops during 14-15 May. Registration for the SeminarsWorld workshops is separate from the congress.

The ExCel Exhibition and Convention Centre is located at Royal Victoria Dock, 1 Western Gateway,London E161XL UK.

PMI is the world’s largest project management member association, representing more than 650,000 practitioners in more than 185 countries. PMI advances the project management profession through global standards, credentials, chapters, virtual communities, academic research, events and publications. For more information, visit http://www.pmi.org/, www.facebook.com/PMInstitute, and on Twitter @PMInstitute.

Source: Project Management Institute

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2 December 2014 – Richardson, Texas, USA – The University of Texas at Dallas (UT Dallas) has announced that the 9th Annual UT Dallas Project Management Symposium will be held during August 13-14, 2015 in Richardson, Texas, USA. The theme of the 2015 symposium will be “Next Gen Management of Projects: People, Processes, Performance”. The conference is organized by the UT Dallas Project Management Program, in cooperation with the PMI Dallas Chapter and the PM World Journal.

The 2-day project management conference will focus on topics relevant to industries in North Texas, including energy, healthcare, information technology, software, telecommunications, transportation and others.

A call for papers will be issued in mid-December, and papers and discussions are expected on such “Next Gen” topics as Use of Social Media in Project Management (PM), Entrepreneurial PM, Agile PM, Multi-generational and multi-cultural project teams, and many others. For more information, visit the symposium website at pmsymposium.utdallas.edu.

The 2 Day Project Management Symposium will be held in the Naveen Jindal School of Management on The UT Dallas campus in Richardson, Texas, USA. The symposium will include plenary sessions with keynote speakers, professional paper presentations by approximately 50 different speakers, panel discussions, lunches and coffee breaks, a networking reception and door prizes. Participants can receive 16 PDUs for attending, while paper presenters can receive even more. If you are a project manager or project management professional living in North Texas, you should plan to attend this world class symposium.

The Project Management Program at The UT Dallas provides application-oriented education for professionals with significant project, program or general management responsibilities. Established in the Executive Education Center in UT Dallas’ Naveen Jindal School of Management, students can earn a Graduate Certificate in Project Management, a Master of Science degree with an emphasis in project management, or a Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree with project management emphasis.

The UT Dallas PM program, originally developed in 1997, is accredited by the Project Management Institute (PMI®) and is registered with the PMI Registered Education Provider Program (PMI R.E.P.). For more information, visit project.utdallas.edu.

The PMI Dallas Chapter is a volunteer-based professional association dedicated to supporting the growth and development of project management practitioners, as well as building awareness of the project management discipline and its critical role in business and organization success. With more than 400,000 members in over 200 countries, the Project Management Institute (PMI®) is the world’s largest membership association for project management. Founded in 1984 and with over 4,000 members, the PMI Dallas Chapter is one of the world’s largest PMI components. To learn more, visit http://www.pmidallas.org/

The PM World Journal (PMWJ) is a global resource for sharing knowledge related to portfolio, program and project management (P/PM). The PMWJ is a web-based monthly publication featuring dozens of articles, papers and news stories about projects and project management around the world. The PMWJ is published by PM World which also maintains the PM World Library (PMWL), a global resource for continuous learning in programme and project management. To read the latest edition of the PMWJ, go to www.pmworldjournal.net. To learn more, visit www.pmworldlibrary.net.

Second Annual University of Maryland symposium expected to be one of the largest project management conferences in Washington, DC area next year

1 December 2014 – College Park, Md. USA – The University of Maryland’s Project Management Center for Excellence will hold its second annual Project Management Symposium during June 8-9, 2015 on the University of Maryland (UMD) campus in College Park, Md. The call for papers has been concluded; preliminary program information will be published soon.

Supporting the theme, “Competitive Edge in Project Management,” this two-day symposium will bring together project managers from the Baltimore-Washington, DC metro area and abroad for a premier academic project management symposium. If you live in the Washington, DC area or anywhere in the Eastern United States, you should plan to attend this important new annual project management conference.

The inaugural symposium in 2014 drew a capacity crowd, as more than 55 speakers tackled topics ranging from disaster management and human factors to agile project management and performance measurement. Featured speakers included experts from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the Federal Highway Administration, International Institute for Learning, and the Maryland Department of Transportation.

In 2015, symposium attendees will once again have the option to apply event sessions towards earning professional development units (PDUs) for maintaining their Project Management Institute (PMI) credential. Go to http://pm.umd.edu/page.php?id=887 for more about the 2015 symposium.

“We’re thrilled to build on the momentum from our inaugural event as we once again bring together some of the greatest minds in the field,” said Director of the Project Management Center for Excellence Dr. John Cable. “The 2014 symposium represented an excellent opportunity for area project managers to learn from and network with each other. Our proximity to the nation’s capital will allow us to further explore a multitude of project management topics impacting a wide range of industries and professions in 2015.”

A recap and photo gallery from the 2014 symposium are now available online. For more information on the 2015 symposium, please visit the University of Maryland’s Project Management Center for Excellence website.

The University of Maryland A. James Clark School of Engineering Project Management Center for Excellence’s mission is to provide high quality, challenging education in project management that encompasses breadth and depth, preparing graduates to be proficient as both contributing members of project teams and excellent project managers, to maintain a strong research program recognized for excellence in project management, and to provide project management training and development service to the University, the profession, and the community at large.” Visit http://www.pm.umd.edu/.

Seven program and project management books offered for end of December drawing; winners to receive a free book

1 December 2014 – Dallas, Texas, USA – PM World has announced the books to be offered for the December 2014 drawing in the FREE BOOKS program through the PM World Library (PMWL) website. The monthly drawings for free books, an opportunity for those interested in program, project and portfolio management, were announced in February 2014 in conjunction with the official unveiling of the new online library. The PMWL (http://www.pmworldlibrary.net/) is a global resource for continuous learning related to program and project management (P/PM).

Working in partnership with authors and publishers, a number of books are offered as prizes for monthly drawings. A random number drawing of fully registered library members is held at the end of each month for the books, to be delivered at no cost to lucky winners. Books for upcoming drawings are posted on the PM World Library home page and in the PM World Journal. For more information about the drawings for FREE BOOKS, click here.

Leading & Managing Innovation: What Every Executive Team Must Know about Project, Program & Portfolio Management (eBook); Authors: Russell Archibald and Shane Archibald; Publisher: Infinity Press (2012); For more about the book, click here.

The PM World Library (PMWL) is a global resource for continuous learning in portfolio, program and project management (P/PM). The PMWL is produced and maintained by PM World which also publishes the monthly PM World Journal (PMWJ), a web-based monthly publication featuring dozens of articles, papers and news stories about projects and project management around the world. To see the latest edition of the PMWJ, go to https://www.pmworldjournal.net/. To learn more, visit http://www.pmworldlibrary.net/. Follow the PMWL on Facebook, LinkedIn or @pmworldlibrary.

30 November 2014 – Vancouver, BC, Canada – Max Wideman has announced updates to his popular project management website, http://www.maxwideman.com/. According to Max:

In Part 4 of the Guest paper on Lessons in Learning, Robert Goatham provides further insights gained from the case study, including what can be learned given the right circumstances. In particular, he comments on the merits of role models, leadership, coaching, and the need for mentors.

In Papers we present a more inclusive definition of project management and a corresponding hierarchical management structure. Then, by way of A Comparison of Project, Program & Portfolio Management Responsibilities, we identify the role boundaries for the managers at each level, in sixteen domains of project management.

In Musings, we disagree with some advice we received on PMOs Challenge: Achieving Project Process Compliance. The PMO should establish leadership through providing a management service, and not by mandating practices that may be inappropriate or even unnecessary.

If you are looking for answers, guidelines or templates, check out Max’s Issacons – “Issues and Considerations” – that are presented in bullet form for quick and easy reference by project managers.

Max Wideman is one of the world’s best-known project management authorities. An engineer and professional project manager, his experience includes systems, social and environmental projects, as well as design and engineering projects. He is a Fellow of the Project Management Institute, of which he is past president and former chair of the board and for which he led the development of the 1987 version of the Project Management Body of Knowledge. He is also a Fellow of the Institution of Civil Engineers (UK), the Engineering Institute of Canada, and the Canadian Society of Civil Engineering. His personal web site at http://www.maxwideman.com/ is a source of project management knowledge and information. It is free to the public.

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Eight winners in seven countries to receive free books by registering at pmworldlibrary.net

30 November 2014 – Dallas, London, Sydney – The winners of the November drawing for free project management books among fully registered members of the PM World Library have been identified. Eight people in 7 different countries were winners of the random number drawing held for the 411 fully registered PMWL members on 28 November 2014. Information about the free book drawings can be found at http://pmworldlibrary.net/monthly-drawing-for-free-books/.

November winners of a free project management book were the following:

Max Wideman – Canada

Jesus Martinez Almela – Spain

Peter Brons – The Netherlands

Jeffrey Davidson – USA

Ali Amzad – Bangladesh

Renato André Correia – Brazil

Lhassen Abnaou – Canada

Hennie Burger – South Africa

Winners get to choose one of the following free books offered in the November drawing, on a first-come first-served basis:

Leading & Managing Innovation: What Every Executive Team Must Know about Project, Program & Portfolio Management (eBook); Authors: Russell Archibald and Shane Archibald; Publisher: Infinity Press (2012); For more about the book, click here.

The Handbook of Program Management: How to Facilitate Project Success with Optimal Program Management, Second Edition; Author: James T. Brown; Publisher: McGraw-Hill (2014); For more about the book, click here.

The Power of Enterprise PMOs and Enterprise-Wide Project Management; Authors: Dennis Bolles, Darrel G. Hubbard; Publisher: PBMconcepts (2014); For more about the book, click here.

Dynamic Scheduling® With Microsoft® Project 2013: The Book By and For Professionals; Authors: Rodolfo Ambriz, Mario Landa; Publisher: J. Ross Publishing (2014); For more about the book, click here.

To win, one must be a fully registered member of the PMWL. To see FREE BOOKS offered for more upcoming drawings, CLICK HERE. To learn more about the PMWL, go to http://www.pmworldlibrary.net/. The Free books are provided by authors and publishers; if you are an author or publisher of a project or program management books and would like to offer a free copy of your book through this contest in exchange for significant publicity, contact [email protected].

The PM World Library (PMWL) is a global resource for continuous learning in portfolio, program and project management (P/PM). The PMWL is produced and maintained by PM World that also publishes the monthly PM World Journal (PMWJ), a web-based monthly publication featuring dozens of articles, papers and stories about projects and project management around the world. To see the latest edition of the PMWJ, visit https://www.pmworldjournal.net/; to learn more, visit http://www.pmworldlibrary.net/. Follow the PMWL on Facebook, LinkedIn or @pmworldlibrary.

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10th International Project Management Conference in Tehran from 15-16 February

30 November 2014 – Tehran, Iran – The10th International Project Management Conference (IPMC2015) will be held in Tehran- Iran, on 15, 16 February 2015. The ninth conference on project management, organized by Aryana Industrial and Research Group and Tarbiat Modarres University, in Tehran, February 2014, was attended by 1500 participants from inside the country and from around the world. The 2015 conference is expected to be bigger.

The Aryana Group and Tarbiat Modarres University will also host the 10th Conference with an outlook of providing a forum for researchers, project managers, and practitioners to share their knowledge and experiences in project management. The forum will be to promote the coordination of knowledge and experience.

The conference theme focuses on the issues of strategic project management, PM techniques, project organization and knowledge management, and modern developments in the field. However, conference organizers belive that the wide spectrum of scientific management issues related to PM, would not allow limitations on the subjects to be presented and discussed throughout the event. The event is also aimed at providing a fantastic opportunity for PM specialists to network with other individuals and organizations interested in the field.

The program will be composed of presentations of selected papers, invited lectures by world famous scientists, round table discussions and workshops. The interested institutions will have a chance to exhibit their works and activities in the conference exhibition halls. For more information, go to http://www.iipmc.com/Default.aspx?tabid=653

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APM sponsored webinar titled “Back to Basics: Earned Value Management for Beginners” by PM leaders from Sellafield and Transport for London

27 November 2014 – London, UK – The Association for Project Management (APM) in the UK has announced a free webinar to 11 December 2014 on the subject of earned value management (EVM). This webinar will provide an introduction to the basic concepts of earned value management (EVM). Presenters will be Simon Taylor from Transport for London and Stephen Jones from Sellafield. Information here.

This is a back to basics presentation; there is no need for any previous knowledge about earned value or experience in project controls. Using worked examples and drawing on Simon Taylor’s experience, it will cover the following topics;

The earned value management principles

Calculating and reporting earned value

Understanding S curves and Bullseye charts

Anyone who is thinking about starting or has just begun a career in project controls and wants to know more about earned value should attend this webinar. It will also serve as a useful reminder for anyone wanting to refresh their knowledge on earned value. The online webinar will be on Thursday, 11th December 2014 at 12:30 – 13:30 p.m. (GMT).

Simon Taylor – Head of planning, Transport for London – Simon is responsible for the maturity and effectiveness of planning within capital projects across all transport modes at TfL covering rail, heavy engineering, vehicles, power & communications, signalling, software, IT, people & business change as well as planning and controls career development and the TfL planning apprenticeship which is in its 3rd year.

Stephen Jones – Sellafield Ltd – Stephen works in the project management capability at Sellafield Ltd. He is a Chartered Engineer and an APM Registered Project Professional with 13 years’ experience in the nuclear industry and 17 years in the manufacturing industry. Stephen is also the Chairman of the APM Specific Interest Group for Planning Monitoring and Control.

In his spare time he works for various academic institutions, he is a lecturer at the University of Warwick, a professional supervisor on the worked based Learning Masters Degree in Professional Engineering at both Aston University and Kingston University London. He mentors a number of project managers and engineers in various industries (including rail, petrochemical, manufacturing, nuclear and conventional power generation) in the UK as well as in Indonesia.

Sellafield Ltd is the company responsible for safely delivering decommissioning of the UK’s nuclear legacy as well as fuel recycling and the management of low, high and intermediate level nuclear waste activities on behalf of the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority. Sellafield Ltd has sites at Sellafield in West Cumbria. Engineering, design and functional support capability is provided by employees based at their Risley office, near Warrington

Founded in 1972, the APM is a registered charity in the UK with more than 21,000 individual and 540 corporate members. APM’s mission is: “To develop and promote the professional disciplines of project and programme management for the public benefit. APM, with branches throughout the UK and in Hong Kong, is the UK national representative in the International Project Management Association (IPMA). More information at http://www.apm.org.uk/

26 November 2014 – Sao Paulo, Brazil – The PMO of the Year award was created by MundoPM magazine in order to highlight Brazilian organizations providing the best project management office services. In its 8th edition the Corporate PMO of Central Bank of Brazil was chosen, in recognition of the Central Bank trajectory since 2004, in appreciation of projects and project management as management tools for achieving strategic results.

The awards event was held in Sao Paulo on November 24, with the presence of the leading authorities on the subject. In the ranking competed dozens of great expressive institutions for the Brazilian economy, such as TIM, Itaú Unibanco, Albert Einstein Hospital, Stefanini and the Government of Espírito Santo.

The Evaluation Committee for the 2014 PMO of the Year award was formed by representatives from renowned national and international institutions: Fundação Getúlio Vargas, Fundação Instituto de Administração, Fundação Vanzolini, Senac-SP, IPMA-Brasil, IPA Institute, APMG-Internacional e PMI-SP.

Editor’s note: The Central Bank of Brazil has implemented widescale project management improvements since participating in research associated with the Prado Project Management Maturity Model, the subject of a monthly series of articles in the PM World Journal in 2014 authored by Russell Archibald and Darci Prado. The Central Bank’s experience with program, project and portfolio management maturity is described in the December 2014 PMWJ article by Mssrs. Marcelo Cota and Sergio Caracas of the Brazilian Central Bank.

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European Fund for Strategic Investments to focus on projects that will provide jobs and growth

26 November 2014 – Brussels, Belgium – The European Commission today announced a € 315 billion Investment Plan targeting additional support for infrastructure, education, research and innovation, renewable energy and SMEs and mid-caps.

A new European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI) will be set up in partnership with the European Investment Bank EIB, built on a guarantee of € 16 billion from the EU budget, combined with € 5 billion committed by the EIB. This new initiative will allow the EIF to increase its support for SMEs and mid-caps over the next three years.

Photo: EIB President Werner Hoyer addressing the European Parliament on investment; courtesy of EIB

The Investment Plan for Europe aims to revive investment in strategic projects around Europe to ensure that money reaches the real economy. This is particularly the case for higher-risk projects which have the potential to fuel growth and employment opportunities for the EU and bear high return for Europe’s competitiveness.

For further information on the announcement please see the press release below:

25 November 2014 – Marlton, NJ and Miami, FL, USA – Hill International has announced that it has received a contract from the City of Miami Beach to provide owner’s representative services in connection with the $500 million renovation and expansion of the Miami Beach Convention Center. The three-and-a-half-year contract has an estimated value to Hill of approximately $4.0 million.

The Miami Beach Convention Center, as originally built in 1957, encompassed 108,000 square feet. Subsequent expansions increased the facility to its current footprint of approximately 1.2 million square feet, including approximately 502,000 square feet of exhibition space and 126,000 square feet of meeting space. The facility currently hosts approximately 145 events annually, including internationally-recognized events such as Art Basel Miami Beach. lt also hosts rotating conventions, meetings and a number of annual trade shows.

The City plans to renovate and expand the Convention Center to “Class A” standards, in a manner that best meets the needs of its target market. The renovation and expansion project includes all exhibit halls, meeting rooms, pre-function, and support spaces such as loading docks, kitchens, bathrooms, MEP systems, and exterior areas. In addition, the facility will be expanded to accommodate a new ballroom and meeting space.

The project will also include the conversion of approximately 880 surface parking spaces into a 6.5 acre public park and refurbishment of the Convention Center Drive and the Collins Canal seawall. New parking replacing the existing spaces will be incorporated on the roof of the building.

“We are honored to have been selected for this important assignment,” said Stuart S. Richter, Senior Vice President and Southeast/Caribbean Regional Manager for Hill’s Project Management Group. “We look forward to achieving all of our client’s project objectives,” added Richter.